Feed regulating means for sewing machines



Nov. 5, 1946. F. PA'R'RY 2,410,790

FEED REGULATING MEANS FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed June 12, 1945 s Sheets-She et 1' WWW! mml arry F.. PARRY 2,410,790 FEED REGULATING MEANS FORSEWING MACHINES I Nov. 5, 1 946.

' Filed June 12, 1945 s Sheets-Sheet 2 Wm/wot;

ra 11% fiaari y I Nov. 5, 1946. F. PARRY FEED REGULATING MEANS FORSEWING MACHINES Filed June 12, 1945 I5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Nov. 5,1946 FEED REGULATING MEANS FOR SEWING MACHINES Frank Parry, Bridgeport,Conn.,,assig11or to The Singer Manufacturing Company, Elizabeth,

N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application June 12, 1945, Serial No.599,059

' Claims. (01. 112 -210) work-feeding elements, thereby to vary thelength of the stitches produced.

It will readily be perceived that with a construction of this nature itis important that the feeding stroke of the needle or the needle willresult.

This invention has as its primary object to provide improved means forsimultaneously and Another object of the invention is to provide theoperator may, with one hand and by a single manipulation of one element,simultaneously lock one portion of the both the upper and the ment ofboth eccentrics.

With the above and other objects in View, as will hereinafter appear,the invention comprises those skilled in the art.

In the drawings,

Fig. l is a longitudinal sectional view of a sewing machine embodyingthe present invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken substantially onthe line 2-2 ofFig. 1. l

the invention is disclosed Fig. 3 is a vertical section takensubstantially on the line 33 of Fig. 1. r v

Fig. 4 is a bottom view of the machine shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view illustrating improved means forpivotally mounting in the bracket-arm head an oscillatory needle-barframe later to be described.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of an adjusting screw later to bedescribed.

Referring more specifically to the drawings,

as embodied in a sewing machine having a frame including aworksupporting cloth-plate or bed I and a bracketarm secured to thebedand comprising a stand: ard 2 and an overhanging arm 3, supporting atits free end a bracket-arm head 4. Journaled in anti-friction bearings 5and 6, and disposed lengthwise within the arm 3, is a main or needlebaractuating shaft 7, carrying, at its rear end, a combined belt and handwheel 8 having a V- shaped annular groove 9 adapted to receive a drivingbelt by means of which the shaft may be rotated from any suitable sourceof power.

Secured upon the shaft 7, adjacent its rear end, is a grooved pulley I 0which through a clip,- belt! I drives, in one-to-one ratio, a similarpulley l2 fixed upon a lower rotary shaft E3. The shaft [3 is journaledin bearings l4, l5 and I 6 which are respectively carried by lugs l1, I8and I9 formed integral with and depending from the under side of the bedI.,

Within the bracket-arm head 4 there is mounted, for oscillation, aneedle-bar frame 20 having upper and lower arms 2| and 22 in which isreciprocably mounted a needle-bar 23, carrying,

at its lower end a pair of eye-pointed needles n.

The needlebar is reciprocated in its bearings in the arms 2| and 22 by alink 24, connected, at

its other end to a crank pm 26 carried by a crank disk 21 secured to theforward end of the shaft 1. Thus rotation of the shaft 1 eiiects endwisereciprocation of the needle-bar and the needles Cooperating with theneedles, inthe formation of stitches, are two rotary loop-takers locatedbeneath the cloth-plate i and each driven at a two-to-one ratio from theshaft l3 by gears 28, 29.

The needle-bar frame is secured to a rockshaft journaled inanti-friction bearings 31 and 32 fitted in bosses 33 and 36 in the lowerend of the bracket-arm head. The bearing boss 33 carries a wear-plate 35against which abuts the lower arm 22 of the needle-bar frame. That endof the shaft 36 within the bearing 32 is provided with a bore 36 intowhich is threaded a screw 31 having. it head 38 fitted within acounterborete in the.v

bracket-arm head and bearing against a spring washer M] in saidcounterbore. split, as shown at M in Fig. 6, and is provided with anaxial bore -32 into which is threadedthe 5 body portion of an expansionplug 43 having a ments in timed relation with the movementsof the usuallower feeding mechanism hereinafter to be described, by me'ans ofconnections comprising arock-lever 65' formed with a split lower endadapted to be clamped bya rewrote the rockoperativelyconnected toonefendof a pitman ll, the other-end of which isformfed as a strap 4-8 whichsurrounds aneccentric '48 forming, a part of an adjustable eccentricdevice, designated gem erallyjas E, secured upon the arm shaft [1. It

will be understood that as the arm shaft ro tated the eccentric 49actuates jthe' pitmanf fl', which in turn operates the rock-leverfi15to' oscil late, the needle-bar frame 20 about the axisjoftherock-shaft 30. The extent of"oscillatory motion imp'arted to theneedle-bar frame, 'an'drthereby theamplitude of feeding motiontransmitted :to theflneedles is dependent upon the amountofjeccentricity of the eccentric 59. In order to vary the amplitude ofthe oscillatory movements .ofjth'e needle-bar frame to harmonize thesame with, the stitch length to which the lower feeding mechanismisa'djust'ed, the eccentric'deviceE is so constructed that theeccentricity ofthe eccentric 49 may be adjusted betweencertain limits.Inasmuch as the details of construction of this adj ustable eccentricdevice forms no part of the;pres ent invention, andfurthermore as the.same is completely disclosed in the United States patent of Myers, No.2,128,031, dated August 23,. 1938, detailed illustration and descriptionthereof in this specification is deemedunnecessary.

Suffice it to say that adjustment of the eccentric 49 is effected byrelative rotation between the member I39 of the adjustable eccentricdevice and the arm shaft 'I. 3

Below the cloth-plate! the machineis provided with a four-motioned lowerfeeding mechanism including a feed-dog 50, carried by a feed-bar 5!having a fork 52 engaging a feed-lift eccentric 53 secured upon theshaft i3. .At itsf-orward endgthe feed-bar is'pivotally connected to a.feed- "rocker 54 secured upon a feed-drive rock-shaft 55 journa1ed inbearings 5i; supported in bearing bosses ''i' formed'inte'gral with "thebed-plate 1.

Upon one end of the shaft 55, there is secured a rock-arm 58 pivotallyconnected at 59 to oneend of a pitman 69, the other end of which isformed as a strap 51 surrounding a lower feeddrive eccentric 62 forminga part of a second adjustable eccentric device E secured upon the shaftl3. Thus rotation of the shaft 13 and the eccentrics 53 and E2 thereon,effects rising-and falling and feed-and-return movements of the feed-bar5i and the feed-dog 59 carried thereby.

The construction of the adjustable eccentric device E on the shaft I3,is the same as that carried by the arm shaft 1 which, as above stated,is -fully disclosed in United States Patent No.

2,128,031 and includes a member 39 which is rotatable relative to itssupporting shaft l3 to vary the eccentricity of the eccentric 62.

As illustrated in the drawings, the machine also includes means forproviding a. thread-clearance space between the nose of athread-carrier, (not shown) forming a part of each of the looptakers t,and stop-lugs (not shown) provided by a throat-plate 1) supported by thebed 'i. This mechanism forms no part of the present invention andtherefore detail illustration and description thereof is deemedunnecessary for this disclosure. Portions of the mechanism, however, aredesignated generally as at.

As hereinbefore indicated, this invention relates primarily to improvedmeans for simultaneously and synchronously varying the eccentricity ofthe upper feed drive eccentric49-and the lower feed-drive eccentric 62.This. means comprises a manually oscill'atable rock-shaftt3 journaled inbearingslfid, 65 formed in the arm 3.

Secured to the shaft 53,. adjacentone end thereof and by a set screw 66,is the shank bl of a handlever fiewhich projects outwardly throughanopening 69 formed in the. forward .wall of the standard 2 (see Fig. 3).The outer end of the lever 58 is flattened, as at it, so as to begrasped conveniently between the thumb andfi'nger of auser.

Secured upon the shaft 63, adjacent the bearing 64, is an arm it havingan offset finger ".12 adapted, upon turning of thejslraft'fiS in onedirection, to enter an apertureor notch 13 formed in the periphery ofthe member |39.of th'ejup'per adjustable eccentric device E.

the machine standard 2. The lower end of the link i5 is .pivotallyconnected, at 16, to the free 1 end of a rock-arm Ti carriedby one endof a rock-shaft 'i-8 j ournaled, parallel with the shaft 53, in bearingbosses ":9 depending from the cloth plate 8. Fixed to the other endportion of the rock-shaft '!8,'is an armBil having an offset finger Biadapted, upon turning of the rock shaft in one direction, to enter anaperture or notch 13 in the periphery of the member 139' of the loweradjustable eccentric device ET. A

Theshaft'lt is normallybiased in a counterclockwise directiomas'seen inFig. 3, by a torsion spring 83 surrounding the shaft and having one endthereof secured to the shaft by ascrewifld. The opposite end portion 8501 the spring, D jojects laterally and bears against the underside ofthe cloth-plate I. This bias of thelshaft 18 is transmitted to the shaft63 by the rock-armf'll, link 15 and hand-levertii. Thus the fingers 1'2and BI of the arms H and 80, respectively; are normally maintained outof engagement' withthe '75 apertures 13 and 13 -in the members "l39 andI39'of the adjustable eccentric devices E and E.

When it is desired to vary the eccentricity of the eccentrics 49 and 62,the operator grasps the portion of the lever 68 and swings the leverupwardly in the slot 69. This simultaneously turns the shafts 63 and I8clockwise, as seen in Fig. 3 and places the fingers 'I2 and ill inposition to enter the notches l3 and I3, respectively. With the elementsI39, I39 held against rotation by the fingers 72, 8I, the operatorgrasps the hand-wheel 8 and turns the shaft 1, which through the pulleysIi] and I2 and clip-belt I I, simultaneously and. synchronously turnsthe shaft I3. Angular movement of the shafts I and I3 relative to themembers I 38, I39 varies the eccentricity of the eccentrics 49 and 62,as fully described in the above mentioned Myers Patent No. 2,128,031.Turning of the shaft I in one direction increases the eccentricity ofthe eccentries 49 and 62 and thereby increases the length ofwork-feeding movement transmitted to the needles n and feed-dog 50.Turning of the shaft in the opposite direction has the opposite effect.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that with this improved andsimplified feed-adjusting mechanism an operator may easily,simultaneously and synchronously vary the feeding stroke of both theupper and lower Work-feeding elements.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what I claim hereinis:

1. In a sewing machine having a frame including a work-supporting plate,a first work feeding mechanism located beneath said plate, a secondwork-feeding mechanism located above said plate, individual means forregulating the feeding action of each of said feeding mechanisms, and asingle manual control means for simultaneously and synchronouslycontrolling the action of both of the feed regulating means.

2. In a sewing machine having a frame including a Work-supporting plate,a first workfeeding mechanism located beneath said plate and includingan adjustablev feed-drive eccentric, a second Work-feeding mechanismlocated above said plate and including an adjustable feeddriveeccentric, individual means for adjusting the feed-drive eccentric ofeach of said feeding mechanisms, and a single manual control means forsimultaneously and synchronously controlling the action of both of theeccentric-adjusting means.

3. In a sewing machine having a frame including a work-supporting plateand a bracket-arm carried thereby having a head, a first workfeedingmechanism located beneath said plate, a second work-feeding mechanismcarried by the bracket-arm adjacent said head, individual means adjacenteach of said feeding mechanisms for regulating the feeding actionthereof, and a single manual control means for simultaneously andsynchronously controlling the action of both of the feed regulatingmeans.

4. In a sewing machine having a frame including a work-supporting plate,a first work-feeding mechanism located beneath said plate and includinga four-motioned feed-dog, a second workfeeding mechanism located abovesaid plate and including an endwise reciprocable and laterally movableneedle, individual means for regulatin the feeding action of each ofsaid feeding mechanisms, and a single control means including a manuallyshiftable lever for simultaneously and synchronously controlling theaction of both of the feed regulating means.

able eccentric device including relatively movable members, the relativemovement of which varies the action of the associated feeding mechanism,means including a rock-shaft journaled lengthwise of said frame beneathsaid work-supporting plate and an arm carried by said rock-shaft forlocking one of the members of the eccentric device of the first feedingmechanism against movement, means including a second rock-shaftjournaled lengthwise of said bracket-arm and an arm carried by saidsecond rock-shaft for locking one of the members of the eccentric deviceof the second feeding mechanisms against movement, a single manuallyactuable member connected ,to simultaneously turn both of saidrock-shafts and the arms carried thereby into member-locking position,and means thereafter to simultaneously and synchronously turn the othermembers of said adjustable eccentric devices thereby to synchronouslyvary the action of both feeding mechanisms.

6. In a sewing machine having a frame including a work-supporting plate,a first work-feeding mechanism located beneath said plate and comprisingan adjustable feed-drive eccentric device including an adjusting memberhaving an aperture, a second work-feeding mechanism located above saidplate and comprising an adjustable feed-drive eccentric device includingan adjusting member having an aperture, means for adjusting thefeed-drive eccentric of each of said feeding mechanisms including twoshafts journaled in said frame, a locking arm carried by each of saidshafts and each having a portion designed to enter one of saidapertures, means to bias said shafts .to a position in which saidlocking arms are out of locking engagement with said adjusting members,and manually actuable means for moving said shafts in opposition .tosaid biasing means to engage said locking arms with the apertures insaid adjusting members.

7. In a sewing machine having a frame including a work-supporting plate,a first work-feeding mechanism located beneath said plate and comprisingan adjustable feed-drive eccentric device including an adjusting memberhaving a peripheral notch, a second work-feeding mechanism located abovesaid plate and comprising an adjustable feed-drive eccentric deviceincluding an adjusting member having a peripheral notch, means foradjusting the feed-drive eccentric of each of said feeding mechanismsincluding two rockshafts j ournaled in said frame, a locking arm carriedby each of said rock-shafts and each having a portion designed to enterone of said notches, means including a torsion spring acting on one ofsaid shafts to bias said shafts to a position in which said locking armsare out of locking engagement with said adjusting members, and a singlemanually actuable means for turning said rock-shafts in opposition tosaid biasin means to engage said locking arms with the notches in saidadjusting members.

8. In a sewing machine having a frame including a work-supporting plate,a first rotary shaft journaled in said frame above said plate, a secondrotary shaft journaled in said frame beneath said plate, first andsecond adjustable eccentrics each cooperating 'centrics to vary carried,respectively, by said flrst and second shafts, a lower workfeedingmechanism actuated from said second'shaft and'controlled by saidsecondadjustable eccentric, an upper work-feeding mechanism actuatedfrom 'said first shaft and controlled by said first adjustableeccentric, illdividual locking members cooperating with each of saidadjustable eccentrics to vary theieccentricity thereof, and a singlemanually actuable element operatively connected to actuate both of saidlocking members.

9. In a sewing machine having a-frame including awork-supporting'platefa first rotary shaft 'journaled in said frameabove said plate, a second rotary shaft journaled in said frame beneathsaidplate, first and secend'adjustable eccentrics carried, respectively,by said first and second shafts, a lower work-feeding mechanism actuatedfrom said second shaft and controlled by said second adjustableeccentric, an upper work-feeding mechanism actuated from said firstshaft and controlled by said first adjustable eccentric, a rock-shaftjournaled in said frame adjacent and parallel to said first rotaryshaft, a second rockshaft journaled in said frame adjacent and parallelto said second rotary shaft, an operative connection between saidrock-shafts, a locking member carried by each of said rock-shafts andwith one i or said adjustable ecthe eccentricity thereof, and

manualmeans forturningone of said rock-Shafts thereby to rendereifective both of said locking emb i r t r 10 In asewing machine havinga frame including 1a work-supporting plate, a first rotaryshaftjournaled in said frame above said plate, a second rotary shaftjournaled in said frame'b'eneath said -plate,fa driving connectionbetween said shafts, first and second adjustable eccentric devicescarriedjrespectively, by said'first and second shafts, each of saideccentric devices comprising amember normally rotated with itssupporting shaft and an eccentric element associated with saidmember'and adapted to be shifted relative thereto by relative angularmovement between said member and its supporting shaft, thereby to varythe eccentricity of said eccentric element, an upperffeeding mechanismactuated from said first shaft and controlled by said first adjustableeccentric device, a lower workfee'ding mechanism actuated from saidsecond shaft and controlled by said second adjustable eccentric device,andme'ans controlled by a, single manually actuable element for lockingboth of said members'against rotation whereupon turning of one of saidshafts efiects simultaneous and synchronous adjustment of both of saideccentric elements.

FRANK PARRY.

